The Kids Are All Right

Release Year: 2010
Director: Lisa Cholodenko

Review: It s refreshing to see a well-made family drama about a lesbian couple and their adopted kids. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore star as a happily married lesbian couple with two children. Unbeknownst to them, the children reach out to their biological father, played by Mark Ruffalo, and want to start a relationship. The introduction of this man into their lives sparks turmoil within the family as they cope with a new paternal figure.

The Kids are All Right has had a great critical response, grabbing several Oscar nominations including best picture and best supporting acting for Ruffalo and Bening. I enjoyed the film, and thought it was a solid family drama, but think the critical response is over hyped. It was fine, creating an original, and often humorous look into an atypical, but not all that unordinary family. It is solid, but nothing made it stand out as exceptional. The critical response seems disproportional to what was on screen. I m particularly mystified by the accolades heaped upon Mark Ruffalo. His performance was actually one of the biggest problems I had with the film. He seemed content to mumble and stammer through his lines, in what I can only assume was his attempt to emphasize the laid-back nature of his character, but really only served to rip apart atmosphere of most of the scenes he was in. Bening, on the other hand, did do a fine job, but again the Academy falls short by not recognizing the best performance in the film, which is by Juilianne Moore. She plays the perfect balance between the easygoing Ruffalo and the uptight Bening, and was the glue that held this film together.

I respect the film for showing a lesbian relationship as any other. The fact that couple was lesbian had little to do with the familiar family problems that they were having. I can t say I was blown away by it, but it was very well done. I may not be showering it with praise as other are, but I can whole-heartedly recommend it.

Rating: 3.5/5